Meets at Bloomington High School South
Politics has often been defined as who gets what, when, and how
(Lasswell 1938). This course will introduce you to the study of
politics in the American context—the way in which our political
system decides “who gets what, when, and how.” Over the course of
the semester, we will examine the actors and institutions central to
American politics. In addition to the formal institutions created
in the U.S. Constitution, we will also consider intermediaries such
as political parties and interest groups, as well as examining the
role of citizens and the media in the democratic process.
My goal for the course is to teach you to analyze and evaluate
politics in a systematic way. To achieve this, the course will
include: 1) material from the textbook, 2) serious discussion of
contemporary political events and 3) a research skills component.
We will move beyond simply describing the institutions and actors to
examining the consequences of the political process for the
formulation of public policies that impact the lives of citizens on
a daily basis.